TWI772733B - Multi-power management system and multi-power management method - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-power management system and a multi-power management method are provided. The multi-power management system includes a plurality of adapters and an electronic device. The adapters receive external AC power and provide a plurality of supplying power. The electronic device communicates with the adapters to obtain the power values of the plurality of supplying power. When the electronic device enters a shutdown state, at least one of selected adapter is selected to provide at least one of the plurality of supplying power according to a required power value of the electronic device at the shutdown state and the power values of the plurality of power, and at least one of unselected adapter is controlled to stop receiving external AC power.

Description

Multi-power management system and multi-power management method

The present invention relates to a power management system and a power management method, and in particular, to a multi-power management system and a multi-power management method capable of reducing power consumption.

In recent years, the application of external multiple power sources has been introduced into electronic devices (such as notebook computers). The main function of the prior art is only to provide enough power for the system of the electronic device to operate smoothly.

However, in terms of the standard of power consumption, the evaluation is mainly based on the usage status of the electronic device and the plurality of adapters. Therefore, even an electronic device with multiple power input must still comply with the current power consumption specification. When an electronic device is used with multiple adapters due to functional design requirements, the total power consumption of the electronic device and the multiple adapters when powered off will exceed the requirements of current energy regulations. Therefore, the power consumption of an electronic device externally connected to multiple power sources must be further reduced to comply with current energy regulations when it is turned off.

The invention provides a multi-power management system and a multi-power management method, which can reduce power consumption in a shutdown state.

The multiple power management system of the present invention includes a plurality of adapters and electronic devices. The plurality is configured to receive external AC power and to provide a plurality of supply power sources. The electronic device includes a selection module and a controller. The selection module is coupled to the plurality of adapters. The controller is coupled to the selection module. The controller is configured to communicate with the plurality of adapters via the selection unit to learn power values of the plurality of power supplies provided by the plurality of adapters. The controller is further configured to instruct the selection module to select at least one selected adapter of the plurality of adapters to provide the plurality of Supplying at least one of the power sources, and making the unselected adapter stop receiving external AC power according to the control signal sent by the selection module.

The multi-power management method of the present invention is suitable for a multi-power management system. The multiple power management system includes multiple adapters and electronic devices. The plurality of adapters receive external AC power according to a plurality of control signals and provide a plurality of power supplies. The multi-power management method includes: acquiring the power values of the plurality of power supplies provided by the plurality of adapters; the required power value when the electronic device enters a shutdown state, and the power value of the plurality of power supplies indicating a selection module Selecting at least one selected adapter from the plurality of adapters to provide at least one of the plurality of power supplies; and making the unselected adapter stop receiving external AC power according to the control signal sent by the selection module.

Based on the above, in the shutdown state, the multi-power management system and the multi-power management method of the present invention control the adapters that are not selected to stop receiving external AC power. In this way, the above-mentioned adapters that are not selected will not consume power when they do not receive external AC power. Therefore, the present invention can reduce the power consumption of the multi-power management system in the shutdown state.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the following specific embodiments are given and described in detail with the accompanying drawings as follows.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 at the same time. FIG. 1 is a system schematic diagram of a multi-power management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a method flowchart of a multi-power management method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the multiple power management system 100 includes adapters 110_1 , 110_2 , 110_3 and an electronic device 120 . The adapters 110_1 , 110_2 and 110_3 receive the external AC power PAC and provide power supplies PDC1 , PDC2 and PDC3 . For example, the adapter 110_1 receives the external AC power PAC and provides the power supply PDC1 via the power path PL1. The adapter 110_2 receives the external AC power PAC and provides the power supply PDC2 via the power path PL2. The adapter 110_3 receives the external AC power PAC and provides the power supply PDC3 via the power path PL3. In this embodiment, the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 and 110_3 will receive the same external AC power PAC. In some embodiments, the adapters 110_1, 110_2, 110_3 may not receive identical external AC power sources. In this embodiment, the supply power sources PDC1 , PDC2 , and PDC3 are DC power sources. The power supplies PDC1, PDC2, PDC3 may be the same or different from each other. For the convenience of description, the number of adapters 110_1 , 110_2 , and 110_3 in this embodiment is taken as an example of three. The number of the adapters of the present invention may be multiple, which is not limited to this embodiment.

For further example, in this embodiment, the adapter 110_1 includes a converter 112_1, and the converter 112_1 converts the external AC power PAC into the power supply PDC1. The adapter 110_2 includes a converter 112_2, and the converter 112_2 converts the external AC power PAC into a power supply PDC2. The adapter 110_3 includes a converter 112_3 and a power switch 114, and the power switch 114 is coupled to the converter 112_3. The converter 112_3 receives the external AC power PAC via the power switch 114, and converts the external AC power PAC into the power supply PDC3. The power switch 114 may be implemented by at least one transistor switch or transmission gate in any form.

The electronic device 120 may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer or the like. In this embodiment, the electronic device 120 includes a selection module 121 and a controller 122 . The selection module 121 is coupled to the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 and 110_3 . The controller 122 is coupled to the selection module 121 . The controller 122 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors (Microprocessors), digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable A programmable controller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or other similar devices or combinations of these devices, which can load and execute computer programs. In this embodiment, the controller 122 communicates with the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 and 110_3 via the selection unit 121 in step S110 to learn the power value PV1 of the power supply PDC1 and the power of the power supply PDC2 provided by the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 and 110_3 The value PV2, the power value PV3 of the power supply PDC3. In the operating state, when the electronic device 120 is electrically connected to the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 , and 110_3 , the controller 122 obtains the power value PV1 of the power supply PDC1 via the selection unit 121 and the communication path CL1 . The controller 122 obtains the power value PV2 of the power supply PDC2 via the selection unit 121 and the communication path CL2. The controller 122 obtains the power value PV3 of the power supply PDC3 via the selection unit 122 and the communication path CL3.

In step S120, the controller 122 instructs the selection module 121 to select the adapters 110_1, 110_2, and 110_3 according to the required power value and the power values PV1, PV2, and PV3 of the electronic device 120 in the off state when the electronic device 120 enters the off state. At least one of the selected adapters is used to provide at least one of the power supplies PDC1, PDC2, and PDC3.

In step S130, the electronic device 120 instructs the selection module 121 to transmit the control signal CS to the adapters other than the selected adapter, so that the unselected adapters stop receiving the external AC power PAC according to the control signal CS. In this embodiment, the control signal CS is transmitted through the communication paths (communication paths CL1 , CL2 , and CL3 ).

For example, the controller 122 learns in step S110 that the power value PV1 of the power supply PDC1 provided by the adapter 110_1 is 15 watts, the power value PV2 of the power supply PDC2 provided by the adapter 110_2 is 60 watts, and the power supply provided by the adapter 110_3 The power value PV3 of the power supply PDC3 is 65 watts. Therefore, in the operating state, the electronic device 120 can obtain about 140 watts of operating power. When the electronic device 120 enters the shutdown state, the controller 122 may learn that the required power value of the electronic device 120 in the shutdown state is 0.2 watts in step S120 . The controller 122 determines that the power supply PDC1 provided by the adapter 110_1 is sufficient to supply the power demand of the electronic device 120 when it enters the shutdown state. Therefore, the controller 122 instructs the selection module 121 to select the adapter 110_1 as the selected adapter. In step S130, the selection module 121 transmits the control signal CS to the adapters 110_2 and 110_3 via the communication paths CL2 and CL3. The converter 112_2 of the adapter 110_2 is disabled according to the control signal CS, and the converter 112_2 cannot receive the external AC power PAC. In addition, the power switch 114 of the adapter 110_3 is turned off according to the control signal CS, so the converter 112_3 cannot receive the external AC power PAC. As a result, in step S130, the adapters 110_2 and 110_3 will stop working. Therefore, in the shutdown state, the selection module 121 and the controller 122 can be operated by supplying the power PDC1.

For another example, if the controller 122 can learn that the power required by the electronic device 120 in the shutdown state is 45 watts in step S120, and the controller 122 determines that the power supply PDC2 provided by the adapter 110_2 is sufficient to supply the electronic device 120 when it enters the shutdown state In the state of power demand, the controller 122 instructs the selection module 121 to select the adapter 110_2 as the selected adapter. In step S130, the selection module 121 transmits the control signal CS to the adapters 110_1 and 110_3 via the communication paths CL1 and CL3. As a result, in step S130, the adapters 110_1 and 110_3 will stop working. Therefore, in the shutdown state, the selection module 121 and the controller 122 can be operated by supplying the power PDC2.

It is worth mentioning here that the multi-power management system 100 controls the unselected adapters 110_2 and 110_3 to stop receiving the external AC power PAC. As such, the adapters 110_2 and 110_3 will not consume power without receiving the external AC power PAC. Therefore, the power consumption of the multiple power management system 100 in the shutdown state can be further reduced.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a system schematic diagram of a multi-power management system according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the multiple power management system 200 includes adapters 110_1 , 110_2 , 110_3 and an electronic device 220 . Different from the multi-power management system 100 (shown in FIG. 1 ), the electronic device 220 includes a battery module 223 and a charger 224 in addition to the selection module 221 and the controller 222 . The remaining operational implementation details of the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 , and 110_3 can be sufficiently taught from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , and therefore will not be repeated here.

In this embodiment, the charger 224 is coupled to the selection module 221 , the controller 222 and the battery module 223 , the charger 224 receives the DC power PDC via the selection module 221 , and the DC power PDC is connected to the supply power PDC1 , PDC2 , At least one of PDC3. In this embodiment, the DC power source PDC is, for example, the sum power of the power sources PDC1, PDC2, and PDC3, that is, the power value of the DC power source PDC is approximately equal to the sum of the power values PV1, PV2, and PV3 of the power sources PDC1, PDC2, and PDC3. . In some embodiments, the DC power source PDC is, for example, a part of the above-mentioned total power source, that is, the power value of the DC power source PDC is less than the sum of the power values PV1, PV2, and PV3 of the power sources PDC1, PDC2, and PDC3. In some embodiments, the DC power source PDC is, for example, one of the power sources PDC1 , PDC2 , and PDC3 . In addition, the charger 224 also converts the DC power PDC into the charging power PC in response to the control of the controller 222 , and provides the charging power PC to the battery module 223 to charge the battery module 223 . Therefore, in this embodiment, the required power value of the electronic device 220 includes the power value required for charging the battery module 223 .

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 at the same time. FIG. 4 is a method flowchart of a multi-power management method according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the controller 222 communicates with the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 , and 110_3 via the selection unit 121 in step S210 to learn the power value PV1 of the power supply PDC1 provided by the adapter 110_1 and the power value PV1 of the power supply PDC2 provided by the adapter 110_2 The power value PV2 and the power value PV3 of the power supply PDC3 provided by the adapter 110_3. In step S220, when the electronic device 220 enters the shutdown state, the controller 222 instructs the selection module 221 to select among the adapters 110_1, 110_2, and 110_3 according to the required power value and the power values PV1, PV2, and PV3 of the electronic device 220 in the shutdown state. At least one of the selected adapters is used to provide at least one of the power supplies PDC1, PDC2, and PDC3. In step S230, the electronic device 220 instructs the selection module 221 to transmit the control signal CS, so that the unselected adapters stop receiving the external AC power PAC according to the control signal CS.

In step S240, the controller 222 determines whether the total supply power of the at least one power supply provided by the selected adapter is less than the required power value of the electronic device 220 in the off state. If the total amount of power supplied by the controller 222 is determined to be less than the value of the demanded power, it means that the total amount of supplied power currently provided by the selected adapter is insufficient. Therefore, when the total supplied power is determined to be less than the required power, the controller 222 instructs the selection module 221 to increase the number of adapters selected in step S250, thereby increasing the total supplied power until all the adapters 112_1, 112_1, Until both 112_2 and 112_3 are used as the selected adapters, the process returns to step S230. In some embodiments, the controller 222 instructs the selection module 221 in step S250 to replace at least one of the currently selected adapters with an adapter capable of providing a larger power supply, thereby increasing the total supply power value.

On the other hand, if the total supplied power of the controller 222 is determined to be greater than or equal to the demanded power value, this means that the total supplied power currently provided by the selected adapter is sufficient. Therefore, the multiple power management system 200 can supply power to the electronic device 220 in the off state by the power supply provided by the selected adapter.

Next, in step S260, the controller 222 determines whether the battery module 223 has reached a charge saturation state. When the battery module 223 reaches the charge saturation state, the controller 222 instructs the selection module 221 to transmit the control signal CS in step S270, so that the adapters 110_1, 110_2, 110_3 stop receiving the external AC power PAC. On the other hand, when the battery module 223 has not reached the charge saturation state, the controller 222 returns to step S220. In some embodiments, when the battery module 223 has not reached the charge saturation state, the controller 222 returns to step S260.

For example, the controller 222 learns in step S210 that the power value PV1 of the power supply PDC1 provided by the adapter 110_1 is 15 watts, the power value PV2 of the power supply PDC2 provided by the adapter 110_2 is 60 watts, and the power supply provided by the adapter 110_3 The power value PV3 of the power supply PDC3 is 65 watts. Therefore, in the operating state, the electronic device 220 can obtain about 140 watts of operating power. When the electronic device 220 enters the shutdown state (step S220 ), the controller 222 can learn that the power required by the electronic device 220 in the shutdown state is 0.2 watts. The controller 222 can determine that the power supply PDC1 provided by the adapter 110_1 is sufficient to supply the power demand of the electronic device 220 when it enters the shutdown state. Therefore, the controller 222 instructs the selection module 221 to select the adapter 110_1 as the selected adapter. In step S230, the selection module 221 transmits the control signal CS to the adapters 110_2 and 110_3. Therefore, in step S230, the adapters 110_2 and 110_3 stop working. In the off state, the selection module 221 and the controller 222 can be operated by the power supply PDC1, that is, the multi-power management system 200 can supply power to the electronic device 220 in the off state by the power supply PDC1.

However, in the off state, if the power stored in the battery module 223 decreases, or the battery module 223 that has not reached the charge saturation state is assembled to the electronic device 220, the controller 222 will The power value required to charge the battery module 223 is obtained from the current stored power of the battery module 223 . At this time, the required power value includes the power value required to charge the battery module 223 . In step S240, the controller 222 learns that the demanded power value has risen to 70 watts, and determines that the current total supply power (ie, 15 watts) is insufficient. Therefore, the controller 222 instructs the selection module 221 to select the adapters 110_1 and 110_2 as the selected adapters in step S250, and returns to step S230 to instruct the selection module 221 to transmit the control signal CS to disable the adapter 110_3. Thereby, the controller 222 can determine in step S240 that the total supplied power (ie, 75 watts) is greater than the demanded power value (ie, 70 watts), and proceed to the next step S260 . In addition, the controller 222 also enables the charger 224, so the multi-power management system 200 charges the battery module 223 by supplying the power sources PDC1 and PDC2.

When the controller 222 determines in step S260 that the battery module 223 has reached the charge saturation state, it instructs the selection module 221 to transmit the control signal CS to the adapters 110_1, 110_2, 110_3 in step S270, so that the adapters 110_1, 110_2, 110_3 cannot receive external AC power PAC. As such, in step S270, the adapters 110_1, 110_2, and 110_3 stop working. In addition, the controller 222 also disables the charger 224 , so when the adapters 110_1 , 110_2 , and 110_3 are disabled, the selection module 221 and the controller 222 can be powered by the power of the battery module 223 . operate.

To sum up, in the shutdown state, the multi-power management system and the multi-power management method of the present invention control the adapters that are not selected to stop receiving external AC power. In this way, the non-selected adapters will not consume any power without receiving external AC power. Therefore, the present invention can effectively reduce the power consumption of the multi-power management system in the shutdown state.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above by the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the appended patent application.

100, 200: Multiple power management systems 110_1, 110_2, 110_3: Adapter 112_1, 112_2, 112_3: Converters 114: Power switch 120, 220: Electronic devices 121, 221: select module 122, 222: Controller 223: Battery Module 224: Charger CL1, CL2, CL3: Communication path CS: Control Signal PAC: External AC Power Supply PC: charging power supply PDC: DC power supply PDC1, PDC2, PDC3: power supply PL1, PL2, PL3: Power paths PV1, PV2, PV3: Power value S110~S130: Steps S210~S270: Steps

FIG. 1 is a system schematic diagram of a multi-power management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a method flowchart of a multi-power management method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a system schematic diagram of a multi-power management system according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a method flowchart of a multi-power management method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

100: Multiple Power Management Systems

110_1, 110_2, 110_3: Adapter

112_1, 112_2, 112_3: Converters

114: Power switch

120: Electronic Devices

121:Select a module

122: Controller

CL1, CL2, CL3: Communication path

CS: Control Signal

PAC: External AC Power Supply

PDC1, PDC2, PDC3: power supply

PL1, PL2, PL3: Power paths

PV1, PV2, PV3: Power value

Claims (14)

A multi-power management system includes: a plurality of adapters configured to receive an external AC power supply and provide a plurality of power supplies; and an electronic device, including: a selection module, coupled to the adapters; and a control A device, coupled to the selection module, is configured to communicate with the adapters through the selection unit to learn the power values of the power supplies provided by the adapters. When the electronic device enters a shutdown state, according to A required power value of the electronic device in the off state and a power value of the power supplies instruct the selection module to select at least one of the adapters to provide at least one of the power supplies, through the The selection module receives the at least one of the power supplies, and instructs the selection module to make the unselected adapter stop receiving the external AC power according to a control signal provided by the selection module. The multiple power management system of claim 1, wherein each of the adapters comprises: a converter configured to receive the external AC power and convert the external AC power to one of the supply powers one. The multi-power management system of claim 2, wherein the converter is disabled according to the control signal, so that the converter stops receiving the external AC power. The multi-power management system as described in item 2 of the claimed scope, wherein: A first adapter among the adapters includes a power switch, the power switch is coupled to the converter of the first adapter, the first adapter receives the external AC power through the power switch, and the first adapter receives the external AC power through the power switch of the first adapter. The converter converts the external AC power to provide a first power supply among the power supplies, and the power switch is turned off according to the control signal, so that the first adapter stops receiving the external AC power. The multi-power management system of claim 1, wherein: the controller is further configured to determine whether a total supply power value of at least one power supply provided by at least one selected adapter is less than the required power value , when the total supply power value is less than the demand power value, the controller instructs the selection module to increase the number of the at least one selected adapter, and when the supply power total value is greater than the demand power value, the controller according to The power value of the at least one power supply provided by the at least one selected adapter causes one of the at least one selected adapter to stop receiving the external AC power. The multi-power management system of claim 1, wherein the electronic device further comprises: a battery module; and a charger, coupled to the selection module, the controller and the battery module, via is configured to receive DC power through the selection module, convert the DC power into a charging power in response to the control of the controller, and provide the charging power to the battery module, Wherein the DC power source is related to at least one of the supply power sources, wherein the required power value includes a power value required for charging the battery module. The multi-power management system of claim 6, wherein: the controller is further configured to determine whether the battery module reaches a charge saturation state, and when the battery module reaches a charge saturation state, the controller instructs The selection module stops the adapters from receiving the external AC power. A multi-power management method is applicable to a multi-power management system, wherein the multi-power management system includes a plurality of adapters and an electronic device, wherein the electronic device includes a selection module and a controller, and the adapters are controlled according to a plurality of The signal receives an external AC power supply and provides a plurality of power supplies, wherein the multi-power management method includes: the controller obtains the power values of the power supplies provided by the adapters through the selection module; when the electronic device enters In a shutdown state, the selection module is instructed to select at least one selected adapter among the adapters to provide the power supply according to a required power value of the electronic device in the shutdown state and the power values of the power supplies. at least one of them; receiving the at least one of the power supplies through the selection module; and instructing the selection module to make the unselected adapter stop receiving the external AC according to a control signal provided by the selection module power supply. The multi-power management method as described in claim 8, wherein each of the adapters includes a converter, wherein the multi-power management method further comprises: converting the external AC power into the supply power by using the converter one of them. The multi-power management method as described in claim 9, wherein each of the adapters includes a converter, wherein the selection module is instructed to make the unselected adapter stop according to the control signal provided by the selection module The step of receiving the external AC power includes: disabling the converter according to the control signal, so that the converter stops receiving the external AC power. The multi-power management method of claim 9, wherein a first adapter of the adapters includes a power switch, wherein the first adapter receives the external AC power via the power switch, and the external AC power The power is converted to provide a first power supply among the power supplies, wherein the step of instructing the selection module to make the unselected adapter stop receiving the external AC power according to the control signal sent by the selection module includes: : Disconnect the power switch according to the control signal, so as to make the first adapter stop receiving the external AC power. The multi-power management method according to item 8 of the scope of the application, further comprising: judging whether a total supply power value of at least one power supply provided by at least one selected adapter is less than the required power value; When the total supplied power value is less than the required power value, increase the number of the at least one selected adapter; when the total supplied power value is greater than the required power value, according to the at least one selected adapter provided by the at least one adapter The power level of the power supply causes one of the at least one selected adapter to stop receiving the external AC power. The multi-power management method of claim 8, wherein the electronic device further includes a battery module, wherein the required power value includes a power value required for charging the battery module. The multi-power management method as described in item 13 of the scope of application, further comprising: judging whether the battery module has reached the charge saturation state; and when the battery module has reached the charge saturation state, stopping the adapters from receiving the external AC power supply.

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